Monday, May 2, 2016

Week 20 - Invierno Llegó (Winter has come)

Winter Dress

So this week marks the official start of winter here in San Ignacio. Which is very strange because I keep receiving pictures of my house as the frosts are disappearing, and things are starting to green up in preparation for summer. Meanwhile, It dropped to 5 degrees Celsius, which is around 40ish in Fahrenheit. Here's a photo of how we looked this Sunday in church (which has no heating) taken afterwards in our apartment.Other than that this was a very boring week. Because the temperatures dropped from summer to winter in less than 24 hours, nobody was prepared for it, including Elder Thorpe who bought those gloves this week after 18 months in the mission. There were very few people outside during the day, and those that were out weren't all that willing to talk with us. Our numbers were alright this week, but we couldn't find many of our usuals, and so we only had 1 progressing investigator, and still nobody came to church. However we are still seeing a lot of good things happening here.

For example, Zuni dropped off the face of the map for more than a week, but when we finally found her this week she told us she was no longer working, and her schedule allows us to visit her earlier than 7 at night. So we're going to be able to progress with her again this week.

We also found out that Gloria Coronel, whose baptismal date is June 3, is about to undergo a surgery in which, a few surgeons are going to fire a high powered layer at her right set of ribs so that they can disintegrate 3 or more stones that are causing her immense pain. Without anesthetic. After that, she thinks it'll be 15 days before she's allowed out of bed... which could potentially cause her to miss her baptismal date. June 3 is the birthday of her 2 year old son. We're hoping for a miraculous recovery that allows her to come to church 3 times before her baptism.

I love Paraguay. We were in the right place at the right time.

I'm almost out of time, so I'm going to end by saying how great this work is. I have seen people receive so much comfort from the message we bring. Even when they don't always recognize the importance of our message, they always feel the joy that comes from the Book of Mormon. That book changes lives. Everything we know about God and Christ from the bible is quoted, clarified and expounded in the Book of Mormon. If you need help in your life, for any reason, spiritual or temporal, read the Book of Mormon. I promise it will help you.

I love you guys. thanks for your support, and I'll see you in 18 & 1/2 Months!

Letters & Packages

LDS Pouch - Post cards or one-page correspondence only. Fold the letter in thirds and secure the long side with tape about one inch from each end. Do not seal the ends. Stamp and address the blank side as you would an envelope. Use the following mailing address:

Elder Samuel Scott

Argentina Posadas Mission

POB 30150

Salt Lake City, UT

84130-0150

Physical Mail - Use USPS to send letters to the mission home (address at top of page) or use DearElder.com to have email sent as mail. The best of both worlds - you write an email, but he receives paper mail that doesn't have to be read from a computer screen. Cost for DearElder.com is $1.20 (to cover international postage).

Packages

We have been asked not to send any packages from the United States. Customs fees must be paid by the missionary and can often amount to $75 to $100 per package.